Facing facts

[Binx]

I’ve watched almost every game this year, and our flaws are pretty evident by now:

Weak 3-point shooting: Let’s face it. Most teams in the NBA have better 3-point shooters than we do. Night after night, the opposing team kills us with timely 3-point shots.

Porous defense: We can’t stop anybody, even lousy teams who are missing their best players.

Lack of effort: we consistently get out-worked by other teams, who seem to want it worse than we do.

Too many players who like to go one-on-one, which more often than not hurts us.

That’s it. And that’s more than enough to keep us under .500 for the entire year.

 

[Neil O. Shyster]

I’ve watched almost every game this year, and our flaws are pretty evident by now.

Weak 3-point shooting: Let’s face it. Most teams in the NBA have better 3-point shooters than we do. Night after night, the opposing team kills us with timely 3-point shots.

Porous defense: We can’t stop anybody, even lousy teams who are missing their best players.

Lack of effort: we consistently get out-worked by other teams, who seem to want it worse than we do.

Too many players (Lillard, McCollum, Anthony) who like to go one-on-one, which more often than not kills us.

That’s it. And that’s more than enough to keep us under .500 for the entire year.

Nothing will change until we trade CJ... DEAD LAST in entire NBA in assist for 2 of last 3 seasons... unbelievable how little they pass

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Nothing will change until we trade CJ... DEAD LAST in entire NBA in assist for 2 of last 3 seasons... unbelievable how little they pass

You don't need to trade CJ to implement a system in which everyone shares the ball. Replacing CJ with Simons won't suddenly make us get more assists.

 

[Neil O. Shyster]

You don't need to trade CJ to implement a system in which everyone shares the ball. Replacing CJ with Simons won't suddenly make us get more assists.

We can agree to disagree... CJ has said he is going to pass more than 5 years now and nothing has changed. He is going to be 29 next season. He will never change... ISO is in his DNA.

 

[Cugel]

no assists is on stotts not cj. players are playing according to stotts game plan. they aren't out there going rogue

 

[kjironman1]

I think a bit of it has to do with the trade deadline. I think certain players know they are going. I also think certain players are hoping they will go somewhere else.
The team is completely out of sorts.

 

[kjironman1]

no assists is on stotts not cj. players are playing according to stotts game plan. they aren't out there going rogue

This seems to be the running narrative. But players still got to make shots.

 

[tester551]

no assists is on stotts not cj. players are playing according to stotts game plan. they aren't out there going rogue

They might be.... but they also know there are no repercussions for going rogue.

Still a Stotts issue

 

[joeBlazers]

C.J. is a great player. His problem is ... he doesn't use his brain well. Too many poor decisions.

 

[bobf]

Nothing will change until we trade CJ... DEAD LAST in entire NBA in assist for 2 of last 3 seasons... unbelievable how little they pass

We had CJ last year and did fine.

 

[wizenheimer]

We had CJ last year and did fine.

and that may very well have been the high water mark for the team...getting swept in the WCF

 

[bobf]

and that may very well have been the high water mark for the team...getting swept in the WCF

Wouldn’t have been if we had found a way to keep most of the team together. We invested all those years in players and just when it was starting to gel we went moronically berserk.

 

[Cugel]

Accountability is an issue. They need a coach that is not afraid to call them out by name in press conferences like Brett Brown and Mike Malone do.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Wouldn’t have been if we had found a way to keep most of the team together. We invested all those years in players and just when it was starting to gel we went moronically berserk.

I disagree here, I think that was as good as it was going to get with those guys as much as Aminu and Harkless were good defenders, they needed to upgrade at least one of them with an offensive player, maybe they didnt need to flush the whole supporting cast, but I believe that offensively that was the worst forward combo of any of the top 10-15 nba teams. It handcuffed them a lot, I know weve had this convo, I was good with starting one of them, but not both. Heck Start, Aminu and Hood, that seemed like a combo that could work. Just think that starting combo needed someone who could create a little, because even tho there 3% percentages werent bad they werent even great floor spacers because a hard close out usually meant they were taking a contested 3 or resetting as neither could effectively put the ball on the floor. I think they combined to average like 15ppg...

 

[bobf]

I disagree here, I think that was as good as it was going to get with those guys as much as Aminu and Harkless were good defenders, they needed to upgrade at least one of them with an offensive player, maybe they didnt need to flush the whole supporting cast, but I believe that offensively that was the worst forward combo of any of the top 10-15 nba teams. It handcuffed them a lot, I know weve had this convo, I was good with starting one of them, but not both. Heck Start, Aminu and Hood, that seemed like a combo that could work. Just think that starting combo needed someone who could create a little, because even tho there 3% percentages werent bad they werent even great floor spacers because a hard close out usually meant they were taking a contested 3 or resetting as neither could effectively put the ball on the floor. I think they combined to average like 15ppg...

I think Harkless was and is a better player than Hood and better in our starting lineup due to his defense. I agree it wasn’t ideal. I would put Hark & Aminu at somewhat above average for starters which would put them less than average for top teams. But you can’t have everything. We had an elite PG and a young near-elite center and a decent SG. And we had huge depth and versatility on the bench.

If I’m wrong and Hood is better fit in the starting lineup then fine. Start Hood and let Hark come off the bench. Start Collins and let Aminu come off the bench. Play with it and see what works best. But don’t lose quality players for trash. They are assets. Very hard to come by. I’m all for UPGRADE. Trade CJ, Aminu, Hark if it’s an actual upgrade. But we didn’t upgrade. Hassan was probably sideways and he doesn’t fit once Nurk comes back.

The reason I think we’d get better... Nurk and Collins are young and bound to get better. Many of our other players were still making marginal improvements. No one was in their declining years. Any of Iur young guys might turn into players. One more year of chemistry. How could we not get better?

 

[tlongII]

I think Harkless was and is a better player than Hood and better in our starting lineup due to his defense. I agree it wasn’t ideal. I would put Hark & Aminu at somewhat above average for starters which would put them less than average for top teams. But you can’t have everything. We had an elite PG and a young near-elite center and a decent SG. And we had huge depth and versatility on the bench.

If I’m wrong and Hood is better fit in the starting lineup then fine. Start Hood and let Hark come off the bench. Start Collins and let Aminu come off the bench. Play with it and see what works best. But don’t lose quality players for trash. They are assets. Very hard to come by. I’m all for UPGRADE. Trade CJ, Aminu, Hark if it’s an actual upgrade. But we didn’t upgrade. Hassan was probably sideways and he doesn’t fit once Nurk comes back.

The reason I think we’d get better... Nurk and Collins are young and bound to get better. Many of our other players were still making marginal improvements. No one was in their declining years. Any of Iur young guys might turn into players. One more year of chemistry. How could we not get better?

I disagree. Hood is much better than Harkless in my opinion.

 

[tester551]

I disagree. Hood is much better than Harkless in my opinion.

As an overall player? They're close, but Hood gets the nod.

As a SF, Harkless is better. As a PF, Harkless is definitely better.

 

[bobf]

P lol

I disagree. Hood is much better than Harkless in my opinion.

I think offense is a lot easier to notice than defense. Best advanced stats consistently have Harkless as better. In the playoffs, when scoring gets really tough, that’s a plus for Hood. Either way, whoever’s better was not my main point. We net gave up a ton of talent and we are losing now. Our old team was 53 wins and getting better. This team IMO will win about 44 games with Nurk and Collins and Hood unless our young players really blossom. That’s a a fine starting lineup (though not necessarily as good as with Hark & Aminu) but we have no depth.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

P lol


I think offense is a lot easier to notice than defense. Best advanced stats consistently have Harkless as better. In the playoffs, when scoring gets really tough, that’s a plus for Hood. Either way, whoever’s better was not my main point. We net gave up a ton of talent and we are losing now. Our old team was 53 wins and getting better. This team IMO will win about 44 games with Nurk and Collins and Hood unless our young players really blossom. That’s a a fine starting lineup (though not necessarily as good as with Hark & Aminu) but we have no depth.

I think our bench / depth looks much better if some of these guys are playing the roles their good at and were meant to play, unfortunately injuries destroyed the little bit of depth they had, but I wouldnt under estimate how much roles play a part in the current shortcomings. Like Tolliver looks terrible but he’s playing a lot of his minutes completely out of position. It would be one thing if he was rediculously talented, but he’s not he’s a journeyman SF. Ill say this for Aminu he had figured out his role, and when Harkless felt like showing up he fit with Dame and CJ too.

 

[Phatguysrule]

and that may very well have been the high water mark for the team...getting swept in the WCF

It was the high water mark with that team. Hence all of the acquiring of easier to trade contracts...

 

[Tince]

I’ve watched almost every game this year, and our flaws are pretty evident by now.

Weak 3-point shooting: Let’s face it. Most teams in the NBA have better 3-point shooters than we do. Night after night, the opposing team kills us with timely 3-point shots.

Porous defense: We can’t stop anybody, even lousy teams who are missing their best players.

Lack of effort: we consistently get out-worked by other teams, who seem to want it worse than we do.

Too many players (Lillard, McCollum, Anthony) who like to go one-on-one, which more often than not kills us.

That’s it. And that’s more than enough to keep us under .500 for the entire year.

To be fair, these are opinions, not facts. Your opinions seem mostly valid based off your observations and view point.

My opinion is this is an injury plagued team and the remaining healthy players consist of a bad mix of players that would not win in any system. I expect us to lose a majority of the games unless there is a considerable roster addition.

 

[Sprayzen1908]

Our bench wouldn’t make it in most other top quality teams - we get slaughtered nearly everytime when they come on. CJ is struggling and regardless of injuries the bigger issue we have is depth to support how we need to use our rotation and get the best from Dame and CJ. Both have struggled alot this year.

 

[HailBlazers]

and that may very well have been the high water mark for the team...getting swept in the WCF

Hard to say with your second best player out.

 

[TBpup]

CJ has many opportunities where teammates are WIDE OPEN for shots...he just doesn't/won't pass them the ball. Is that Stotts' directive to ignore them? Highly doubt that. Stotts may not hold them accountable but I can't believe he is coaching them to be THAT Iso oriented to shun wide open players. Unless your shot looks like a catapult, NBA players for the most part make a good percentage of wide open shots.

Look at the teams we play.....SMH.

 

[hoopsjock]

To be fair, these are opinions, not facts. Your opinions seem mostly valid based off your observations and view point.

My opinion is this is an injury plagued team and the remaining healthy players consist of a bad mix of players that would not win in any system. I expect us to lose a majority of the games unless there is a considerable roster addition.

No matter what system? How could you possibly know that? Last night when they built the 9 point lead in the 1st quarter it was almost entirely off transition. Then in the 2nd and 3rd quarter they don't run at all and barely pass in the half court.

We've seen numerous examples (almost every game this year) where the Blazers get down double digits and start playing faster and with more urgency and cut into the lead. Why not try something like that from the beginning?

I totally get why fans feel the way you do but to me it actually looks like the coaches have adopted those same excuses and don't think there is anything they should do about it.

 

[Tince]

No matter what system? How could you possibly know that?

I don't know, which is why I started the statement with "My opinion..." No way to know how 30 different systems would work with this exact roster, so it's just an opinion.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

No matter what system? How could you possibly know that? Last night when they built the 9 point lead in the 1st quarter it was almost entirely off transition. Then in the 2nd and 3rd quarter they don't run at all and barely pass in the half court.

We've seen numerous examples (almost every game this year) where the Blazers get down double digits and start playing faster and with more urgency and cut into the lead. Why not try something like that from the beginning?

I totally get why fans feel the way you do but to me it actually looks like the coaches have adopted those same excuses and don't think there is anything they should do about it.

The NBA is a game of runs though. I think at times were all seeing what we want to see (myself included). Your a fan too, lets remember that. It cracks me up at times when the Blazers are scoring off of the same opportunities they were missing on and all of a sudden the commentators will start saying oh wow look at the adjustments, and its like well the adjustment was the ball went in.

Almost all teams including the Blazers play with more “frenzy” when they get down.

I dont know if there is a system these guys would be good in or not, apparently Stotts’ system isnt the one. The biggest difference between last year and this year is the roster / injuries. I think we all wish we’d see more fight from these guys.

It should tell us something if their down by double digits in almost every game this season...

 

[Hoopguru]

No matter what system? How could you possibly know that? Last night when they built the 9 point lead in the 1st quarter it was almost entirely off transition. Then in the 2nd and 3rd quarter they don't run at all and barely pass in the half court.

We've seen numerous examples (almost every game this year) where the Blazers get down double digits and start playing faster and with more urgency and cut into the lead. Why not try something like that from the beginning?

I totally get why fans feel the way you do but to me it actually looks like the coaches have adopted those same excuses and don't think there is anything they should do about it.

Ive thought for along time that if they'd push the ball more / play faster that it would create more opportunities. I do get tired of Dame slowly bring the ball up while eating up the clock. It reminds me of some of the teams I played against at the Milwaukie Elks league, where their ace always slowly brought the ball up and most the time went iso.

 

[hoopsjock]

The NBA is a game of runs though. I think at times were all seeing what we want to see (myself included). Your a fan too, lets remember that. It cracks me up at times when the Blazers are scoring off of the same opportunities they were missing on and all of a sudden the commentators will start saying oh wow look at the adjustments, and its like well the adjustment was the ball went in.

Almost all teams including the Blazers play with more “frenzy” when they get down.

I dont know if there is a system these guys would be good in or not, apparently Stotts’ system isnt the one. The biggest difference between last year and this year is the roster / injuries. I think we all wish we’d see more fight from these guys.

It should tell us something if their down by double digits in almost every game this season...

I mean you didn't even watch the game but are going to try and tell me I'm only seeing what I want to see?

The Blazers ran a bit in the 1st and didn't at all in the 2nd and 3rd. They had 0 assists in the 2nd quarter and I forget how many they had in the 3rd but CJ, Baze, Melo, and Whiteside had a combined 0 assists for the game so it couldn't have been many.

These are facts Tortured, not seeing what I want to see.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

I mean you didn't even watch the game but are going to try and tell me I'm only seeing what I want to see?

The Blazers ran a bit in the 1st and didn't at all in the 2nd and 3rd. They had 0 assists in the 2nd quarter and I forget how many they had in the 3rd but CJ, Baze, Melo, and Whiteside had a combined 0 assists for the game so it couldn't have been many.

These are facts Tortured, not seeing what I want to see.

I have this thing called the internet and DVR's too. I was speaking more generally than just last night though.
And yes, you can argue with it if you want but confirmation bias exists in all of us and you and I aren't above it.